


Vondila.

by BelovedMind



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Romance, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 16:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14937633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelovedMind/pseuds/BelovedMind
Summary: Argo Reuter didn't care about much - only coffee, drawing, and her friends. However, the disappearance of Aelmount High's future valedictorian causes Argo to get involved in something so much more bigger than herself. Apparently breaking into a therapist's office, trying to figure out an unsolved case, avoiding boy problems, and drinking five cups of coffee a day is conventionally uncommon.A story about broken dreams, broken hearts, and broken souls; you never know what's behind closed doors and happy faces.





	1. i | a lost agenda

**Author's Note:**

> this is another piece of writing that i had written a while ago, and it is an original concept. i love to write, it has always been a passion, and this is a plot that had plagued my mind for a long time. i hope you enjoy.
> 
> until next time,  
> s.

Everything has a beginning. Religion and science often clash over this matter; the beginning of the human race, the beginning of it all. Science argues that the universe derives from the collision of a high temperature and a high density state, meanwhile religion argues that the beginning derives from God's will, and God's will only. For Argo Reuter, her beginning began by the conclusion of Odilie Lysette.

It all began on a Sunday morning. The morning air was crisp in Aelmount, or as Argo perceives it, home. As the fresh breeze blew against the young girl's dark ringlet curls, the seventeen year old took a deep breath. The girl with tan brown skin could feel the paradoxical psyche of the dawning sun's heat against her skin, the warmth richness juxtapositioning itself against the gelid zephyr. As an artist, Argo appreciated Mother Nature's contradiction. Drawing inspiration from this, the high school student continued sketching the mountain scape before her.

It had become a habit for Argo to do this, a method to relieve stress from life's brutalities. Every Sunday morning, Argo would wake up at dawn, preparing a breakfast feast consisting of crepes and coffee, before her busy parents, Abel and Sloan Reuter departed for their consuming careers. Argo had long ago accepted the predicament, and learned to cherish her time spent with her police officer father, and mother, who is the nurse of the local Aelmount hospital. Once her parents leave, Argo herself would begin her day, as she makes her way to towards the river that is positioned on the outskirts of the large town she lived in; and then she would create her art.

As she added another dark stroke to her drawing, she felt at ease, just her and her sketchbook. Argo's iPhone then began to ring. As she halted the vibration deriving from the machine, a voice could be heart from the other side. Rowena Bautista, Argo's best friend, beguiling voice then begins filling in Argo about the details of her two-month anniversary dinner with her boyfriend, Damien Nolan. Damien, the wide receiver of Aelmount High's varsity football team, was someone Argo had surprisingly become friends with, and was the only football player that Argo actually have a proper conversation with.

As Argo commenced on her path on the way to the local coffee house, Barocco's, Rowena continued to ramble.

"He was such a gentleman, and was so sweet! You know. He did stuff like open the car door for me; push in my chair, that typical cliché as crap, but still hella cute stuff. Oh yeah, he also gave me this gorgeous necklace as a gift, give me a sec, I'll snapchat you a pic of it."

Taking a breath, the violet haired girl continued. "Even though at times he can be so overbearing as hell, I still I have no idea how I got so lucky. About that, Ar, I was thinking. You know how it's been a while since that thing with Lars, but you've been out on the market for a while now and Damien has this friend–"

"Hold up Row." The Filipino girl was then cut off by her best friend, who suddenly saw a golden polka dotted journal on the ground, completely clean despite the fact that the ground was all dirt.

Argo then knelt down to pick up the journal. Letting the sharp edges of the pages scrape against her tan fingertips, she went through the pages rapidly. The pages filled with writing, evidently illustrated that the journal was an agenda that belonged to an extremely busy person.

_AP Bio revision class at 2:30. Cheer practice at 4. Dr. Bradley at 5:45. AP Chem study group at 7. Calculus II tutoring at 9._

As Argo finished skimming through the pages, the young girl breathed into her phone. "I found someone's diary, and it looks like it belongs to a really busy person."

Rowena then replied through the simulated voice in the device. "How about you check if it belongs to someone. Maybe there is an information page?" Realizing Rowena was correct, Argo then saw the name 'Odilie Lysette' on the first page of the agenda. Argo then glanced at her golden digital watch.  _8:32am. Everyone is still probably sleeping. Great, I still have time to get myself a third cup of coffee._

"You're right Row. Where does Mayor Lysette and his family live again?"

-

Dumping her empty latte cup into a trash bin, Argo swiftly approached the Lysette Mansion, located at the epicenter of the Aelmount's rich neighborhood.

 _That's weird. Why is there a lot of press surrounding the mansion?_ Pushing her way through the many local reporters, Argo made her way through the crowd, as she approached the front of the courtyard. After stepping on many feet, apologizing profusely to what felt like the entire population of Aelmount, Argo spotted her father.

"Dad, dad, – DAD!" The ebony skin toned police officer who stood at the front of the household, who had been previously speaking to another officer, then turned, and in an exasperated manner, approached Argo.

"You know you can't visit me at crime scenes, Argo. How many times have we been through this?"

"But I – "

"This is my place of work, and you need to understand that. I cannot tell you anything about the investigation. How about you visit your mother at the hospital instead? I'm sure they have a lot of much interesting stuff to do there like –"

"DAD WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME!" The officer, who initially looked annoyed, suddenly turned worried.

While Argo had her back towards the main entrance of the household as she heard an annoyed, raspy voice.

"Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in at my house?" Argo turned to see from who the rude remark had came from, and as she turned, a tanned guy with golden colored hair, built like a football player came to her perceptions.

"Why don't you have some respect and run off to the little fan club that collected  _outside_ the grounds." The rude reply flowed out of the stranger's mouth. As a result, rage consumed Argo, and she could hardly contain it.

"I'll have some 'respect' once you earn my respect." She could see the slight shock in the strangers face, almost as if it's been a while since someone had spoken to him the way he had just spoken to her.  _Good, no one is going to treat me like trash. I may be a Hufflepuff, but I won't let arrogant assholes like him treat me horribly._

Argo had accepted her father's passive attitude long ago, however she had hoped her father would speak up for her behalf, but his silence had remained, and without Argo noticing, he had disappeared from the scene of the crime, pun intended.

Turning around, she had spotted the stranger's intense glare consumed with disgust.

With a sigh, Argo spoke. "I have no idea who you are, but if you actually want to be useful, could you please call Odilie Lysette. I need to give her something important."

As quick as the glare disappeared, almost uncontained anger combined with confusion contoured on the young teenage boy's face. "You really are clueless. Let me make it simple for your tiny brain."

With yet another insult, however this time sounding less threating, Argo could hardly contain her annoyance, as the stranger's arrogance had been overwhelming. However, he just continued, pausing after every spoken syllable.

"Odilie is gone." And just like that, Argo's life had altered.


	2. ii | cherry tomato

Argo only had few moments in her life that took her by surprise. They included, but were not limited to, failing her Calculus test, getting asked out by Aelmount High's resident rebel, Lars Jacobson, and this moment.

The young brown girl was speechless. Time felt as if it would not pass, and no matter how many times she opened her mouth, she could not get any words to pass them.

"Do you want to tell me who you are, or are you just going to let bugs fly into your mouth." Though his speech had a friendly banter tone towards it, his statement had fueled Argo's sass-filled reply.

"Argo. Argo Reuter. And like, please do tell me, do you actually have a reason for being such a conceited asshole, or is it just a part of your damp personality?" Argo was surprised to see the young boy chuckle.

Rolling his eyes, the stranger replied. "I only act like this towards people who have no boundaries. You'd think that I'd have that right, considering you are on my family's property right now. Without permission, may I add." Ending with a smirk, the boy waited for Argo's reply.

Argo felt perplexed at his reply and his weird persona, the brunette spoke. "Your house? Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am, sweetheart?" The nickname felt demeaning to Argo.

"I would have said Satan, but I think that would be too kind." Argo then felt surprised, as she heard actual laughter derive from the stranger.

"You're funny, I'll give you that." With a slight pause, the blue-eyed stranger continued. Running a hand through his medium length gold hair, he replied with an equally golden smile. "Julian Lysette. Odilie's twin."

Surprise possessed Argo. She had not been aware that perfect Odilie had a twin brother in her perfect life and family, though she shouldn't have been surprised, since he seemed to lack flaws, which annoyed Argo to no end.

"You mentioned you had something important." Julian continued.

Sighing another time, Argo released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She then reached into her mustard yellow messenger bag, grabbing the journal rather hastily. As she dragged out the journal from the bag, her chocolate brown eyes made contact with Julian's eyes, which widened with shock as the rest of his personality altered completely. In place of the original friendly-ish stranger, a seriously concerned Julian took place.

Extremely rapidly, Julian pulled Argo inside the house, a little too harshly, as the young girl let out a slight cry, but before she could give the harsh football player a piece of her mind, he spoke.

"Where did you get that? Do you have any clue how important this is? Odilie never leaves her agenda behind anywhere. That's her entire life in your hands."

Confusion filled Argo, as she was unaware about how a book can dictate someone's life so much. She traced her hands lightly over the hardcover agenda, pondering on her thoughts for a moment. What is going on?

Julian, who had been watching Argo's face, was pondering on what was he going to do. His sister was missing, and though he did care for her a lot, he knew that his sister would not run away. Her life was great, and she always made sure everyone knew that. But, if she did not runaway, what happened to her? He'd already gone through all of the options since her disappearance last night, and to no avail, none of them made sense. But, right at this moment, was a strange girl he'd never seen before, someone who is completely unknown and foreign to him. Someone who can maybe make sense of all of this mess for him. Running a hand through his hair, Julian led out a breath, and spoke. "How about I tell you everything I know, and you do the same."

Argo, who had escaped from her trance, looked up to Julian's hazel eyes, and thought about her options. I can go into a stranger's kitchen and possibly be murdered by this egomaniac. Or, I could just kick him in the balls for being rough with me, and go home and make myself French toast. But, despite her instincts, Argo was a person of curious nature, and could not stop herself from accepting her newfound acquaintance's offer.

-

"What do you want to drink?" Julian's masculine voice echoed in the kitchen as he asked the young girl across the room. In response, Argo answered, "Coffee, black."

Argo felt uncomfortable sitting on the rigid white chairs in the Lysette family's kitchen. Correction, she felt uncomfortable being in the Lysette family's kitchen. The white marble themed room, with sophisticated kitchen appliances surrounding the spacious kitchen, which was completely neat and organized, made Argo feels suffocated by the isolation and coldness of the room. In contrast with the kitchen she had been at earlier morning, which smelt like coffee and warmth, this seemingly perfect kitchen made the teenager feel alone.

Whilst analyzing the empty surrounding, a hand placed a hot white mug of black coffee in front of Argo, its heat radiating off in the form of steam. The young girl let out a quiet "thanks," that was almost silent, thanks to the muffled sounds of reporters and police outside the home.

Across the marble table sat Julian, drinking his own cup of steaming peppermint tea. Any person would perceive this ordeal to be odd, with the awkward ambience clouding the atmosphere. Argo and Julian could not seem any more opposite; Argo's untamed long curls opposed Julian's structured blonde hairstyle, which was styled with gel seemingly. Julian radiated this aura of self-assurance, which borderlined egotistical, meanwhile Argo's almost shy demeanor was highlighted with her kind, ferocious attitude. Everything, down to the clothing that the pair wore, was contradictory. While Argo wore a laid-back burgundy romper and mustard colored shoulder bag, Julian wore a monotonous outfit consisting of black skinny jeans and a grey fitted shirt.

"So how do you know Odilie and why do you have her agenda?" Julian spoke in a strong, but not accusing, voice. Argo took a deep breath, getting ready to recount her only encounter with the missing girl, which had occurred the weekend before.

The bass in the music vibrated the furniture in the personal library that Argo currently found herself in. Despite not even knowing whose personal property Argo was going to be situated, she let her best friend drag her to a high school party. Parties in Aelmount were not uncommon, and tended to occur frequently during the fall season. Something about the chilly air apparently causes teenagers to feel an uncontrollable urge to drink their body mass in cheap alcohol and have sex with each other.

Argo personally could not understand the appeal her peers found in parties. There was nothing gratifying about stuffing an entire student body in a house and grinding with each other in a tiny living room. (Yes, she was aware that not all high school parties were like this, but all of the parties that the young brown girl had ever attended perfectly molded into the status quo)

The stench of sweat was enough for Argo to attempt to scavenge a quiet room in the venue. Which currently explains why at 8pm on a Friday night, Argo found herself in an empty household library, crouched behind a navy cushion sofa reading a book her literature teacher recommended; 'The Handmaid's Tale' (a depressing read to match her depressed state of mind)

It was then Argo heard yelling from outside the room. "YOU ASSHOLE. JUST BECAUSE I'M NOT READY FOR SEX DOES NOT MEAN YOU GO AND SLEEP WITH MY BEST FRIEND. WE ARE SURE AS HELL DONE NOW." Following the public announcement a door slammed and the sound of a door being locked followed. A quiet cry could be heard in the room, and Argo had then noticed that the volume of the music from the party had significantly lowered.

Argo then stood up, and as she met the upset girl's emerald gaze, she was now in the presence of Aelmount High's poster child.

Despite sniffling due to a congested nose, the brunette who had just entered the room fluidly spoke in a soft, but strong tone. "Oh god, I'm sorry. I had no clue that there was someone here, I'll leave right now."

The young girl was wearing a white lace dress, which made her stand out, but all Argo could notice was that despite there being no streams of mascara running down her green eyes, the girl was evidently upset.

"No, stay. This room does not belong to me in anyway; I mean it's really nice, way too nice for me. My mom's a nurse, and my dad is a cop, we couldn't afford a place like this in this side of town even if we saved for an eternity, not that it matters because – um, oh yeah. Sorry about that, I blubber, a lot clearly. Oh, um, are you okay?" Argo ran her right hand through her hair, the girl laughed, wiping her tears.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I am totally okay. All okay here, feeling perfectly peachy." Pausing, the girl walked to the large window at the opposite end of the room, and stared out at the starry night, one of the few perks of living in a small town that lacks all the bright lights that a city has. Well, that, and the carbon emissions.

Letting out a sigh, the brunette then turned to face Argo, and with a warm smile continued, "I don't think we ever met. I'm Odilie Lysette."

Argo, shuffling through her favorite mustard colored bag, finally found the pack of tissues she knew she had, and walked up to Odilie, offering her a piece, then replying to Odilie.

"I know who you are, I mean, pretty much everyone knows. I'm Argo. Argo Reuter."

Letting out another effortless laugh, Odilie continued, "You're sweet Argo, and I don't have a lot of sweet people in my life."

And with a twinkle in her eye, Odilie smiled at Argo, before continuing in a happy tone which, "I believe that this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship."

"She would never just leave her agenda on the ground like that. That dumb book is her bible. It has her everything, and she'd rather lose her arm, than to be apart from that book." A frustrated tone saturated in Julian's speech. In response, Argo let out a disgusted look. "Well, that's morbid." Taking another sip of coffee from her white mug, relishing in the bitter taste, Argo continued. "Could she have dropped it? Maybe when she was walking back from school or something?" Julian then let out a sarcastic laugh, "Odilie is the most organized freak in the world, and it's not possible for her to drop this. And Odilie wouldn't be walking, she has a BMW." Rolling her eyes, Odilie glanced at the polka dotted book on the kitchen table, wondering where was Odilie. Argo had only talked to Odilie that one night, their conversation lasting until the early hours. The pair decided to ditch the party after a couple of hours, something Argo had wanted to do since the very beginning, but lacked a mode of transport. The pair continued their conversation until the next morning in a 24-hour McDonald's café, and Argo felt that they were friends. But now, sitting in her family's kitchen, Argo felt foreign in her life, as if that one night had never occurred.

Julian, who was staring intensely at Argo, looked away after Argo lifted her gaze. The silence was then broken as he stated, "I never understood her. You'd assume for twins, we'd be close. But she is a complete stranger to me, especially after her injury." Furrowing her eyebrows, Argo enquired. "What injury?" An incredulous look of surprise then possessed Julian. "Are you sure you go to our school? You literally know nothing about what happens in the social scene." Argo defensively replied, "Well, I'm sorry, I was not aware the whole world revolved around you. Please forgive me, I'll make sure from now on to know every detail about you." Ignoring her sarcasm, the golden blonde rolled his eyes. "Back in January, Odilie was rehearsing for some important audition to a dance school in NYC. She slipped and injured her tailbone. Pretty badly, and she hasn't danced ever since. It was really bad for her, she became depressed, had to go to a therapist, take meds. That type of shit messed her up, but I don't know. She's been a complete stranger to me since middle school." Drinking more of his tea, there was a certain look ghosted on the blonde's face. Is he actually... hurt? No, it doesn't make sense. He just said that they aren't close, at all. Thought Argo, as she glanced at the clock in the kitchen, seeing that it was almost mid-day. Remembering that her parents would have their break now, she wondered why she hadn't Mayor Lysette and his wife at all, despite that she was in his home. Glancing back at Julian, who seemed lost in thought, Argo enquired. "Where are you parents?"

"Right over here." The pair jumped in surprise as they heard a sturdy, feminine voice from across the room. "Or well, rather, I am." And as a golden blonde woman, dressed in a white formal dress and an effortless smile, eloquently strode towards the two high school students, she continued. "I also have some questions of my own. I don't think I've ever met you, darling. Hello, I'm Julian and," as the older woman paused, a pained look possessed her for a moment. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Odilie's mother. Please, call me Ophelia. And you are?" Surprised by the warmth the woman radiated, Argo smiled as she shook the manicured hand that was extended towards her, as she replied, "Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Lysette, I mean Ophelia. I'm Argo –" "And Argo and I were about to go to my room, to finish our bio project. Sorry about that mom, I know that with what's happening, but it's really important for us to finish it. It's half our grade." And quickly, Julian took Argo's hand, surprising Argo as she barely grabbed her bag.

As the duo descended upon the top of the staircase, Argo was out of breath from the speed walk, and with a raspy voice spoke, "What the heck, this could be counted as kidnapping. And biology, really? I don't even take the class." And with a puzzled look, Julian incredulously questioned, "You don't take bio? Can you even do that?" Rolling her eyes, Argo glanced at the door behind Julian, which had been taped off with a bright yellow "do not enter, crime scene" tape. Noticing that the room, and the rest of the house, was empty and silent, Argo asked Julian. "Shouldn't the officers be here, looking through her room?" Julian, who purposely avoided the brunette's gaze, stared out at the room, immediately proceeding to enter the room as he spoke. "They came at 6am, and her room is perfectly in order. Guess they were done with it since nothing is here." Argo, following his queue, also entered the room, inspecting all of it pristineness. The large bedroom was themed as white, and everything was organized and in order, with everything perfectly belonging in its position. To Argo, the only thing that stood out was the giant corkboard that was above Odilie's white desk, which was adorned by a large iMac and golden stationary. How can someone be so organized? This room is literally more visually pleasing than the ones on Pinterest.

Julian, who was staring out of the window, looking down at all the reporters situated in the estate's large patio, momentarily forgot about Argo, who had decided to analyze the cork board. The extremely organized board that was comprised of a study schedules, ballet show tickets (why are there so many?), her med schedule and a photo of her friendship group, all held up by golden pushpins.

To an outsider like Argo, Odilie's life was perfect. It was the only noun that came to mind when thinking of Odilie as a person, and Argo knew it before she even formally met the missing girl. "She must really love ballet," Argo broke the silence, a sad smile ghosting on the brunette's face as she remembered how her new friend is missing. "It's her whole life," replied Julian, still looking out the window. "Or, I mean, it was. She isn't allowed to dance for a while." And with an emotionless chuckle, he continued. "Where do you think she is right now? My dad is telling everyone she's kidnapped, but we haven't seen her since lunch yesterday, and a ransom hasn't come in yet. Nothing has. The reporters are saying that she ran away, apparently tired of hiding whatever dark secret we supposedly have." Turning around, Julian looked at Argo, who was watching him, and as they share eye contact, Julian continued. "She wouldn't do that. Yeah, the accident happened to her. But that's literally the only bad shit that she has even gone through. And it's been more six months. She wouldn't do that." Argo could see the boy's eyes glistening, and she felt a wave of sympathy. "She wouldn't do that. She isn't an attention-seeking whore, for God's sake. She cares too much about her reputation and her future. You know she got accepted at Harvard's early admission for pre-med? She wouldn't let shit like this mess that up. She cares about herself too damn much to do something like this, so why did she do it!" Julian repeatedly deeply inhaled and exhaled, evidently to control his anger. Argo, who was fairly intimidated, spoke, after what seemed like an eternity to Julian.

"Why are you telling me this?" In response, Julian furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, as he realized he himself couldn't answer his own question. "We met, what, like an hour ago, where you were an extreme jerk, might I add." Sitting down on Odilie's bed, Argo continued. "What am I doing in her room? Why am I here?" Listing out all her questions, Argo noticed Julian avoiding her interrogative leer. Breathing out, Argo finished. "What do you want from me, Julian?"


	3. iii | strangers

When Julian had first seen Argo, he had been bemused. It's not often that he comes across someone he's never seen before. Aelmount was not the largest town, and as the quarterback of Aelmount High's varsity football team, he's come across most of the faces he attends to school with. This was mainly due to his popularity, frequent attendance to all of the high school parties, and his father's occupation as the Mayor of the town. However, his seemingly accurate hypothesis had been proven incorrect by Argo's existence. To Julian, Argo was a complete stranger, and he wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

"I don't know." Honesty was soaked within Julian's words.

Now looking at Argo, the blonde realized how much he had revealed to this complete stranger. And the thing is, Julian really didn't know. He didn't know why he was telling her so much. He didn't know why he let her into the house, or into Odilie's room. He didn't know why he even spoke to her in the first place.

"You seem like an honest person. Makes me want to tell you what's on my mind." A slight smile took over Argo face, as she turned back at Odilie's bulletin board, reading through her med schedule, and noticing that she takes a lot of medicine for anxiety and depression. And then she remembered what she had read earlier that morning.  _Dr. Bradley at 5:45._  And it bugged Argo. She would have never guessed that someone with such a perfect façade, such as Odilie, would ever have such serious issues. Running a hand through her curls, Argo was deep in thought, and it really confused her.

Argo was born in Aelmount Hospital, and has lived in this town all her life. She had a small friendship group, consisting of her best friend Rowena, and two other individuals: Cheryl Adams, Mason Thompson and Grace Woods (and Rowena's boyfriend, now, sort of. It was really just surprising to Argo that you were capable of having a proper conversation with a football player, a major revelation). Argo was content with the people in her life, and believed that she didn't need many friends, especially considering once she left Aelmount for art school, she would never see them again (except for when she runs into them at Walmart during Christmas break, but that's easily avoidable: simply hide behind any big display and hope for the best)

The young girl had her friends, her family, and her art. She didn't need anything more, she was content. So why was she here? And why did she meet Odilie that night? Were they actually friends? And most of all, where is Odilie?

Realizing Julian was watching her, Argo broke the silence. "Right, um. As enlightening our conversations have been, I think I should head back home. I have some homework for English Lit that has been most definitely not done by me." Handing Julian the agenda that she had mindlessly swiped in the kitchen before meeting Mrs. Lysette, Argo began to approach the door.

"I'll let you know if I find anything. Will you do the same?" Glancing back at Julian, Argo nodded, smiling.

-

Wednesday's were not the bane of Argo's existence. And neither was school. While the seventeen year old didn't love school, she didn't hate it either. She was neutral, and honestly deliriously living out her days until she left to art school, to take her place in the real world that is outside the bubble known as Aelmount. It was days like these that just felt rather boring to Argo. She was tired of all the conversations and gossip regarding Odilie's disappearance, bored of hearing the same story repeatedly.

On Monday afternoon, at precisely 4:15pm, the Aelmount police department held a news conference. The Lysette family was finally ready to announce Odilie's disappearance to the general public, finally satisfying the poor old residents of the town from their contagious case of morbid curiosity. Argo would know, as she was forced to miss school that day, to instead be dragged to the police station with her father early in the morning, for what was apparently 'mandatory interviewing' regarding her involvement with the case, which was quickly ruled out probably because she had only interacted with Odilie once in her life (or maybe because her father's is a valued police officer, but Argo was complaining). As a result to the long and tedious process, Argo found herself still at the station at 4:15pm, and with her Moleskin notebook and Muji black ballpoint pen in hand, Argo listened and began taking concise notes as the Sheriff's deputy officer Kenna Tyler officially announced Odilie's disappearance, stating that there has been no leads to the case, and that it was likely a kidnapping. Argo was also there while Mayor Lysette urged the public to inform anything they may know, while only his tearful wife was standing by his side,

And now, on a Wednesday morning, Argo was sitting at the courtyard table, the furthest one away from the school building, as the Argo and her group of misfits obviously couldn't be near any other fellow students. Eating lunch with her friendship group, Argo felt bored. It was frequent that Rowena's boyfriend, Damien, would join them for lunch, favoring quality time with his girlfriend, over sitting with his fellow Football comrades.

Poking at the cherry tomato in her pasta veggie mix, Argo listened as her friends conversed about their plans for the weekend.

"I still think going to Luke Steiner's party is so much better than staying home for another weekend and eating our weight in ice-cream and popcorn," spoke the Cheryl, Argo's ambitious, out-going best friend who had moved from the Canada to live with her step-father who is some sort of political advisor for Mayor Lysette.

"I still don't think it's a good idea to go to a party, I mean there is a missing, most probably dead, girl. This is quite literally a real-life 'Scream' scenario happening before our eyes," replied Grace Thompson, another best friend of Argo's. Grace was the type of person who spent more time in the local library, than with her own family, though this was likely because the young girl was not interested in making conversation with her twin brother, who spent more time obsessing over which football player was the hottest or which color of nail polish is more complimenting to his pale complexion.

Cheryl responded in throwing one of her blueberries at Grace. "In that case, we really have to go. I've always had a thing for Billy Loomis." With a smirk, the young blonde popped a blueberry in her mouth. Grace rolled her eyes in response, as she took a bite of her Snickers bar, after speaking. "Sidney Prescott also had a thing for Billy. Things didn't end too well for her, considering she barely survived the first movie, and ended up having, what, like five sequels where she also almost died, not to mention literally everyone ending up being dead."

"Well it's a good that our lives are not some small budgeted 90's horror films then." Cheekily replied Mason, the last member of Argo's friendship group. Mason's family is renowned for being the only musical instrument suppliers in town, and the best ones in the state of Wyoming, which resulted in Mason and his family being treated as royalty due to the amount of tourists who come to the isolated town. The friendship group often spent their time near the "Thompson's Musical Instrument Store" (extremely original as you can assume) as the only McDonalds in town was near by, and Argo would ponder why so many tourists visit Aelmount just for some musical instruments. Not surprisingly, Mason was classically trained on the piano and cello, and knew how to play a dozen more instruments. A great party trick incase anyone wondered.

Then Rowena, who had been silently sitting in the embrace of her boyfriend, began to point out. "And lucky for us, movies are all fictional BS. I say we should go to this party. Argo?"

Raising her gaze towards her lavender-haired best friend, Argo timidly replied. "But fiction is usually based on truth." A glum tone filled the atmosphere when the young brown girl finished speaking. Argo was normally an optimist, but she couldn't help herself but think of the very worst outcomes. Aelmount was your average boring town, where nothing really bad ever occurs, evident by its calm history. No natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tornadoes, ever impacted them; in contrast, the largest natural disaster that has ever impacted them was the 2016 Elections where their state majority voted for Donald J. Trump (but Argo knew that that it was not thanks to their town). Due to this, Argo couldn't help but wonder why Odilie was missing.

Rowena had been worried for her best friend. She had known Argo since freshman year, and in those three years, she had understood that Argo, despite being a ray of sunshine, had tendency to overthink. Although she desperately wished she could help Argo to stop overthinking her involvement with Odilie's disappearance, she knew she couldn't. Similarly, Rowena felt as though it was slightly her fault. Perhaps if she had not dragged Argo to that party last weekend, she would have never even interacted with Odilie. In addition, if she had met up with Argo on Saturday morning, she might have never found Odilie's planner. It all felt like her fault. Only Rowena's fault.  _Stop! Snap out of it, you're better than this._ Rowena reminded herself.

The blame game can get rather contagious, but Rowena firmly told herself that it is not her fault that Odilie is missing, and she is not the one causing Argo troubles. Glancing at Argo once more, she decided that it would be better to give Argo her space.

"Well, moving on. Has anyone prepared for Ms. Buff's quiz?" Grace enquired the group. As she was sitting in her ivory baby doll dress, she pulled a strand of her short blonde ombré dyed hair behind her ear. As she spoke, the majority of the group let out a groan. Ms. Buff was the AP European History teacher, and though she was a relatively nice person, her tests had a renowned reputation for being extremely difficult. "What's on the test again?" Asked Mason, as he popped another peanut M&M into his mouth. "The French Revolution, main key events and players," Grace answered back, letting out a sigh.

During that moment, Cheryl was watching something behind Grace. In response, Cheryl, who was the only one aside from Rowena that did not attend Ms. Buff's class, declared. "Well, I don't know any important players in the French Revolution, but I do see a player staring at Argo right now." Argo, who was currently sitting next to Grace, quickly turned her head, letting her long dark curl bounce against her shoulder. About twenty meters across the courtyard was the large table of Varsity football players and the Cheer team, and indeed, a Football player was eyeing Argo, evident by when her brown eyes oddly met the gaze of his hazel eyes.

"Isn't that –" "Julian Lysette." As Grace naively enquired, Damien's deep voice civilly speedily interrupted. Argo, who still had her back turned against the group, as she watched Julian, and generally the rest of table, didn't notice the high pitched ring of the school bell. In lieu, Mason softly clutched Argo's arm that was covered by a navy cardigan, and asserted. "Let's go to the library. You've got double free with me and Grace."


	4. iv | you're a smart girl, argo

"On what date was King Louis the sixteenth beheaded, and tell me one way the revolutionaries justified his death sentence?" Grace asked as she looked down at her flashcard.

Argo immediately answered from across the wooden table in the fairly empty library. "12th of January 1793. The charge that led to his execution implied that he was conspiring with the Prussian and Austrian Kingdoms." With a smile, Grace confirmed her answer. "Correct. Next question is for you, Mas. What event is considered the start of the French Revolution, and when did occur?"

Mason bit his lip as he momentarily struggled to remember the facts. Argo, who was sitting next to him, was doodling in her sketchbook a drawing of a guitar, and as the young musician saw the drawing, he cleared his throat. "The storming of the Bastille prison. Happened on July 14th 1789." "Correct." Grace confirmed once again, as she put the second flashcard at the bottom of the pile, beginning to read out the next question.

While the trio continued answering questions, Argo felt at ease. History was one of her favorite subjects, and dates seemed to stick to her like bears to a honey trap. While answering questions, Argo began to sketch her friends, meanwhile Mason, also silently read a textbook.

Their process of revision coordinated extremely smoothly, and the loud ring of the bell was the only thing that had disrupted Argo's concentration. As the young brown girl raised her gaze from her sketchbook, behind Grace, she saw Julian standing by the door across the library. Julian then proceeded to beckon her towards him with a hand gesture. Momentarily confused, Argo blinked twice, before gathering her things, quickly stuffing them into her yellow bag.

"Hey guys, I need to go do something, I'll see you in English." In response, Grace and Mason simultaneously hummed in approval, still concentrated in their studies. Briskly, Argo speed-walked towards Julian, who was coolly leaning against a bookcase near the exit. As Argo approached Julian, he opened the door for the young girl, indicating her to leave first. Rolling her eyes, she left the library, and optioned to enter one of the empty art classrooms, that were near by.

"Found anything new?" Argo asked Julian, who was now quickly walking next to her. Confusion seized upon Julian's facial features, as he let out a one-worded answer. "Huh?"

"That's what you said remember. When I left your house of Saturday. I'll let you know if I find anything, and you'll do the same. I'm assuming you found something new?" Her soft spoken-voice was confident and controlled, contradicting in nature, but evidently intertwined in Argo's persona and speech.

Momentarily stuttering, Julian replied as he adjusted his black and burgundy varsity jacket. "Oh yeah. Um, I gave them the agenda yesterday; I mean I gave it to the police. I explained to them how you found it and gave it to me on Saturday morning, but I didn't think it was important enough to give it in." Confused, Argo replied. "I thought you said it was her entire life?"

Argo then halted, motioning Julian a 'quiet' sign with her finger against her lip. She then knocked on the door next to them. Silence answered back, and Argo then entered an empty art room, Julian following her. The room was quaint, cluttered with paint bottles and other art supplies. The scent of damp paint and cleaning supplies filled the pair's nostrils, and in Argo's opinion, it was one of the most best scents in the world.

Sitting up against one of the large blue tables in the room, Argo waited for Julian's reply.

"It is her life. I wanted to scan the entire thing, but didn't have a scanner machine. Then I ordered one but shipping was a couple of days." Argo then gave the young boy in front of her a bewildered look.

"Wait, you wanted to scan some pages, so you bought a freaking scanner?" Letting out a light laugh, she finished. "Was that necessary? You could have just done it at school or at the mayor's office. Those machines are expensive as heck."

Julian then lamely responded back. "Oh. I, uh, didn't really think of that."

Fishing through her purse, she took out her sketchbook and pencil again, Argo began sketching as Julian continued to speak. "Anyways. On Saturday night, I decided to read through her agenda, and I noticed some stuff." Ruffling through his black Hershel's backpack, he took out multiple sheets of paper. He then placed them next to Argo, pointing on certain sentences.

"These pages are back in July, and she allocated time every single day, for annoying ass boyfriend. These pages are September, and she hardly ever sees them, instead filling up all her time she used to spend with them, for study groups and tutoring session."

Argo, pausing her sketching, looked down at the papers, and at Julian, before responding. "Maybe it's because it was the summer holidays back in July, and now she's busy with school?"

Julian then quickly replied. "No, that isn't it. During summer, she also had study groups, and spent all her mornings helping teach kids ballet classes. She always made time for the people she cares about."

Grabbing a few of the papers and skimming through the writing, Argo asked. "They why aren't you on here?"

"Says a lot about relationship, right?" The golden blonde humorlessly chuckled, as he waited for Argo's opinion on the matter.

The brown skinned girl then tucked a stray curl behind her ear, progressing her thoughts. "Well they broke up last Friday anyway, so clearly they were drifting apart from each other. And even if it did, what would you do with that info? The police say Odilie is kidnapped, but I doubt that her boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend, committed the crime. Have you ever even actually spoken to Chris?" Argo noticed that Julian began avoiding her leer. She also noticed that he began clenching his fists tightly. To make matters worse, she believed she knew why.

Odilie's boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, Chris Tyler was a pre-eminent asshole. As the Captain of the Aelmount High's Varsity Basketball team, and part of the Aelmount's debate team, he is both intelligent, and athletic. However, his attitude maintained to be his biggest flaw, and to put it simply, he's a dick. However, Argo still doubted that Chris kidnapped Odilie, mainly because if that had been the case, Odilie would have been found, as his mother is the Sheriff's deputy officer.

"For a matter of fact, I have spoken to Chris, and if you have too, you'd know how much of an asshole he is." A frustrated tone was evident in his words, and Julian still would not look Argo in the eye. Rolling her eyes, she continued to examine the pages that were scattered through out the table.

Something really irked Argo, and she wasn't positive why exactly. When looking through the weekly spread, she noticed that Odilie had therapy sessions three times every week with a Dr. Bradley. An image of the medication schedule on Odilie's bullet board flashed in Argo's head. "Her injury must have been really bad. She literally wastes so much time during the week for therapy, and she takes a lot of medication."

Julian then faced Argo, and quickly snapped back. "It's not a waste of time." He then paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing to speak. "The injury was absolute hell, and it messed her up completely. Without all these therapy sessions and medication, Odilie wouldn't even be alive right now." Argo, realizing she had touched upon a vulnerable subject, decided that it was better to stay silent, as she watched Julian.

Running a hand through his hair, Julian turned to look at a detailed painting of castle, admiring the warm hues and detailed paint strokes. Not aware who had painted the art piece, he complimented the picture. "This is beautiful." Those three words caused Argo to smile, but she had decided to remain silent.

"You know, it's really weird. Normally, I wake up in the morning to her loud crappy pop music. I then go down to eat breakfast, and I see her making some bullshit green smoothie, and she likes to put chia seeds in them." Momentarily pausing, the golden blonde chuckled. "Once, when she probably had forgotten to take her one of her meds, she went to make her smoothie. When she opened the pantry to get some chia seeds, but found none there, she threw the biggest bitch fit in the world. Those type of moments reminded me of the bitchy attitude she had adopted, and why we aren't close." With his back turned towards Argo, he scratched the back of his neck, while leaning against the table. "But this morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone alarm. And I went down, and there was no sound of a blender. No bitch fits about chia seeds. And Odilie wasn't there." Julian then turned towards Argo, who had opened her mouth to speak, probably some pitiful sympathy wishes, Julian assumed.

Instead, Julian beat her to the race, and began a speaking. "You're one of the smartest people in Junior year, and you probably would be positioned in the place of Valedictorian instead of Odilie, or that kid Josh Sung, if you had taken more advanced classes instead AP Art and Honors Human Society." In response, Argo smiled, as she responded. "You did research, huh, Lysette."

"Well I had to, Reuter, considering what I am going to be proposing to you right now." Argo then began furrowing her thick eyebrows in mild confusion, but Julian simply continued. "You're smart, and your dad's a police officer –" "You do realize that this is quick entering stalker territory." Argo quickly interrupted, however the smile on her face reassured Julian that she was not worried or offended.

Ignoring her comment, Julian continued. "My dad's the Mayor, and I am somewhat intelligent also. There's something that everyone's not getting here. Everyone first said that Odilie was kidnapped, but no ransom demand came." Argo noticed a glossy shine in Julian's eyes as she watched him, and she noticed how he quickly attempted to blink it away. "No demand came, and so everyone know thinks that she ran away, the seeming perfect –" There was that noun again, 'perfect', the only word the is close enough to describe Odilie.  _Maybe someone didn't like that she was perfect._ Argo then quickly discarded that thought, continuing to listen to Julian. "– girl, with perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect life, decided that there was too much pressure, and that she should run away." Julian's voice then strained. "But she wouldn't do that, she wouldn't run away! She's too selfish for that. She loves herself, and she loves her life!" Rather then perceiving it as an act of aggression, Argo decided to gently place her hand on Julian's shoulder. As she did so, she felt Julian shiver for a moment, and his anger swiftly diminished.

Taking more deep breaths, Julian continued. "There's something that everyone's not getting. The police aren't figuring out, and all this shitty gossip isn't figuring out either." Taking another breath to calm his nerves, Julian finished his proposal. "You're smart Argo, and you think outside the box. Do you think you can help me get Odilie home?"


	5. v | literature class

Argo was currently situated in her final class of the lengthy school day: American Literature. Sitting in the middle of the classroom, Argo was surrounded by all of her friends, as the class was large, and nearly every single student in junior year took American Literature.

The young girl generally enjoyed this class. Despite being constantly pushed by the school guidance councilor to take AP Literature and Composition, Argo preferred staying in this class. She liked listening to Mason and Cheryl, who sat in the seats in front of her, freak out over whatever show they are binging that week. Argo also appreciated having her best friend Rowena to her right, and Grace to her left, as she hardly had any classes with the pair. Her support system mattered to Argo the most, and she didn't mind staying in an easier class.

Generally, Argo had few dislikes about this class. The Literature teacher, Mr. Kaiser, was a good teacher, and knew how to hold the entire class's attention. The only thing that Argo really disliked about this class was that there were so many students, and at this moment, someone she was trying to avoid sat diagonally behind her.

Feeling the metaphysical burning sensation, Argo turned around and realized that the golden blonde that she was attempting to avoid, Julian, was staring at her.

_"Not that I want to rush you or anything, but could I get an answer sometime this century?" Julian broke the silence, pairing his cheeky statement with a charming smile. A loud bell then rang, causing Argo to jump backwards, slightly colliding her hip against the low-rise table._

_She then quickly began to collect the scattered photocopied pages of Odilie's agenda, biting her lip as she debated whether or not to agree to Julian's question. Looking up at Julian, who had also collected some of the pages, Argo soothingly spoke. "Can I message you my answer at the end of the day?"_

"Ms. Reuter, do you think that Willy Loman's suicide is justified?" An older, masculine voice asked Argo, who had been lost in thought.

Slightly jumpy, Argo then quickly snapped out of her daydreaming, turning to face the teacher. Confounded by what the older male had asked of her, the brunette pressed her lips together, before timidly replying. "Um."

The teacher in front of the classroom, looked slightly annoyed, as he finished writing 'Death of a Salesman' on the whiteboard. Every swipe against the board generated a squeak sound, which echoed in the silent classroom, causing Argo's heart rate to further speed up.  _Why did I have to get called out the one time I wasn't paying attention._

Turning around to face the classroom, Mr. Kaiser spoke. "As intelligently insightful the answer 'um' is, I'm afraid Ms. Reuter, that isn't an applicable answer. Pay attention, unless you think you are too advanced for this class."

Argo felt a flush run through her cheeks after Mr. Kaiser's comment, causing the brunette to meekly reply. "No, Sir."

The brunette, feeling humiliated as she realized that she had been embarrassed in front of her entire class, then felt a gentle kick to her right, and as she turned, she saw Rowena silently mouth "are you okay?"

In response, Argo nodded, before rapidly alternating her attention towards the teacher.

"Since Argo wasn't able to, does anyone else want to attempt at answering the question?" Mr. Kaiser challenged the class of twenty-four. At the mention of her name, Argo flushed even more, wanting to crawl into a hole in the middle of nowhere, and stay there forever.

At the back of a class, a familiarly coarse voice spoke, surprising Argo.

"I believe his suicide was justified."

Turning around, Argo realized that it was Lars Jacobson who spoke. Immediately, Argo's eyes met Lars' cobalt-colored eyes.  _Lars what are you doing?_

While Argo's gaze was fixated on Lars, Rowena watched the two, similarly to Argo, wondering what in the hell was Jacobson was doing. Adjusting her perceptions between the two, Rowena simultaneously pondered if anything else has happened between the two that the young girl was unaware of.

Lars maintained an unprecedented negative reputation in Aelmount High, as the overly used, cliché term: 'bad boy'. Coming from a rough household that everyone in the overly curious town knew about, Lars' deadbeat father, alcoholic mother, and younger brother who had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, earned Lars his undesired title. Despite common belief, Lars had yet to participate in any destructive activity, other than wearing his leather jacket in eighty-degree heat waves. However, this tidbit did not matter, as most of Aelmount's population still saw Lars as a bad influence, resulting in his lone wolf status in Aelmount High.

Argo used to be part of the faction that generally avoided Lars. To be brutally honest, she had become part of that division once again.

Regardless of the fact Argo knew Lars was not a bad person, it was surprising to hear the dark brunette speak in class, let alone volunteer to answer Mr. Kaiser's question. It had surprised not only Argo, but also everyone else in the classroom, including Mr. Kaiser, who then asked. "Please, do continue."

The rest of the class then turned their chairs to watch Lars, wanting to hear his answer. Argo then quickly glanced at Julian, who had also been watching her. As she met his gaze, she briskly looked away, feeling further unsettled.  _Does he know what happened between Lars and me?_

Watching Lars now, Argo saw the high school student proceed to run a hand through this dark brown hair, following with his reply.

"Well, Willy Loman is the title character of the play. He's the salesman, and we all know that this play is about his death. Hence, the title, 'Death of a Salesman'."

Lars then paused for a moment, realizing the silence from his classmates and the many confused looks established their perplexed state, as they had no clue what the 'bad boy' was talking about. As he scanned the classroom, he met Argo's stare, but ignored it, altering his attention to something else that Argo could not pin point. It made Argo wonder if he was still avoiding her. Meanwhile Mr. Kaiser, intrigued by Lars' notion, gave him a look that vividly said: 'go on.'

Argo knew that Lars Jacobson was an intelligent person; he had to be, considering that his parents are not, and someone has to look after their family. However, times like these, Lars wished that more of the class were intelligent, so he didn't have to waste his breath pointing out the obvious. In addition, time like these, he also wished that they were more intelligent so that they knew that Lars wasn't a bad person mixed up in illegal gang activity and drug use, so that he could live his life carefree, without the cautioned looks of strangers waiting for him to blow up. An annoying little voice pestered in his head, making him sense a notion of slight remorse and regret regarding his past.  _More intelligent, like Argo._

Similarly, Argo felt uneasy as her stomach twisted at the sight of Lars. Not realizing, Rowena place her hand on Argo's arm to ineffectively bring some comfort. What Argo didn't know, was that her entire friendship group was also watching her carefully, and worried for the young girl. Cheryl had her fists clenched, as she still had an overwhelming desire to punch Lars square in the jaw. Meanwhile Grace was worried sick for Argo, as she was there for the countless nights of her tear sessions. Mason himself knew the troubles of heartbreak, and was deciding how to support his best friend. Not many knew the context behind Lars and Argo's separation, but a good portion of the class was aware that this is the first time the pair publically interacted since the party on the last day of summer.

_Argo's right cheek was pressed against Lars' firm chest, her colored tears staining his cream toned shirt. Her ringlet curls were open, and while his head was gently placed on top of her head, Lars could smell the crisp scent of her shampoo._

_Opening his mouth, words came flowing out, his insecurities developing a vulnerable tone in his speech. "You have so much going for you in your life, and everyone is right. I'm a bad influence Argo, and you deserve–"_

_"Don't give me that BS, Lars." Argo cut off Lars, her voice slightly creaking due to her tears. She then separated herself from the young boy, facing him as she further continuing. "You're not a bad person, and I know it. I don't need you to decide what good and what isn't for me. I'm my own person, and I can decide that for myself."_

_Shaking her head as the young brown girl smoothed out her blue dress, then wiped her tears as Lars watched her. Argo knew that they had caused a small commotion in the party (whoever's it may be), but concluded that no high school party is complete without relationship drama._

_Looking Lars straight in face, Argo finished. "If you want to break up, fine. But know that what you are doing is hurting me."_

Lars cleared his throat, drawing Argo away from her thoughts. As she looked Lars straight in the eye, the young teenager continued his speech, ignoring the silent whispers of some of the classmates.

"Okay, you know the playwright, Arthur Miller. He wants to make this modern tragedy, make us normal people feel like heroes. Tragic heroes like Oedipus Rex and Hercules. So he makes it blatantly obvious for us that the main character, Willy, is the title's salesman whose about to die."

Taking a breath, whilst still maintaining eye contact with Argo, Lars continued. "It's something that we as the audience know that no one else does, making us feel almost godly." As Lars verbally pronounced the last word, Argo broke eye contact, and looked at Julian who, like the rest of the class, paid all his attention onto Lars' spoken hypothesis.

Lars paused for a moment, as he was unaccustomed to speaking in front of so many people, before proceeding.

"Then, once he kills himself, his death is final. We all know he's a hero, because he did it to raise money for his son to become successful and achieve the American Dream. And that's how it's justified. We knew about his death, so we don't feel very sad about it. It had a purpose, and Willy got his wish. He wanted his son to get money so he could be successful, and so, his suicide had fulfilled its purpose. And outside of the play, Miller achieved his purpose. Willy's fate was tragic, but in a heroic way, and since we sympathize with his so much, we feel almost metaphysically connected. All of this makes his suicide justified."

Mr. Kaiser, who was intently listening, but remained silent, watched as an incredulous look took upon Lars' face.

Lars, who had been slightly annoyed at the amount of blank faces, then once again met Argo's gaze.

"Am I the only one who read the damn play?"

The silence confirmed Lars' theory, and the dark haired teenager contemplated for a moment, deciding to further extend his view.

"Suicide is final, and once you do it, you can't come back. Willy was gullible, but he was not dumb, and he knew this."

With each word spoken, Lars pronounced each syllable with such fluidity that made it seem that Lars was talking about the weather, not death. Argo knew this aspect of his alluring personality, but his speech still gave her, and many others in the room, chills, as Lars further expressed his view.

"Juliet knew it, Othello knew it, and Ajax knew it. Hell, even Jean fricking Grey from X-Men knew it. But they all did it for a purpose, for a reason. So while we may not like it because it's so sad, and while their family members cry as they mourn for their death because they love them so damn much, and we can talk about all the shit we want about their death. It doesn't change the fact the it's justifiable, because the people who committed suicide found reason, or a purpose, and saw it enough to justify committing suicide."

As Lars finished his point, the tension in the atmosphere was so thick that Argo felt that it was almost impenetrable. By the end of his speech, everyone on the room was sitting on the edge of their seats.

"That's enough Mr. Jacobson." The Literature teacher in an authoritative voice, harshly spoke, breaking the silence that had formed in the classroom.

Argo knew that had this conversation occurred last week, no one would bat an eye on to this situation, however, at this moment, everyone in the classroom now shared the same thought.  _Did Odilie kill herself?_

Clearing his throat, the teacher continued. "Thank you very much Mr. Jacobson for the insightful point. However, with every point you make in Literature, we analyze the texts directly, before drawing concrete conclusions."

The dark-haired teacher then proceeded to stand from the chair he was sitting in, and articulated more points about the play.

"Willy Loman's death was used as a plot device to develop the tragedy in the play. Willy's character represented the common man in the contemporary American society, and further exemplified the struggle to achieve the American Dream, many cases resulting in tragedy." Mr. Kaiser paused for a moment, as he picked up a piece of paper from his desk, evidently reading out some of its content.

"In Miller's famous essay, 'Tragedy of a Common Man', the playwright declared that Willy Loman 'the common man's willingness all he has into the contest, the battle to secure his rightful place in the world.' For homework, I expect a 1500 word essay," Argo quickly jotted down the teacher's words into her notebook, while silently cursing him for doing his job.

"Critically evaluate this statement. The essay is due next Friday. This essay is worth a good amount of your final grade, so I expect all of you to actually read the play. Sparknotes won't do, and neither will the movies."

As he finished speaking, the class let out a whimper in unison. "Stop your wining, most of you are upperclassmen, so start acting like it."

As Mr. Kaiser looked out at the class of bored students, he felt annoyed once again. Letting out a sigh, he glanced at his watch, which indicated that it was almost the end of the day.

Snappily, he spoke. "Class dismissed, get out of here. Next class, I expect all of you to arrive on time, especially Ms. Richards and Ms. Singh, unless you ladies would like to attend Saturday morning detention." Argo then glanced at her classmates Shirley and Rama, who had an annoyed look cemented on their beautiful faces.

As Mr. Kaiser finished speaking, the bell rang. As usual, the teacher left the class first. Along with the rest of the class, Argo rushed to pack her belongings into her bag. Looking around the room, Argo understood that Lars unnoticeably slipped out of the room, making her feel a heavy weight on her chest. As she unintentionally slammed her burgundy pencil pouch against the linings of her bag, Argo heard Mason's voice.

"Hey Ar, how about we go to McDonald's, the kid I'm tutoring cancelled on me. Apparently has the chicken pox." Cheryl let out a snort as she applied a coat of dusty rose lipstick, before sassily replying. "I bet one of my kidneys that he just wanted to avoid your wrath for one day of peace."

In response, Mason lightly shoved Cheryl, as the rest of the group laughed at the pair. Argo thought about Lars, and his public display in class, before scolding herself for thinking about him, and overanalyzing the situation way too much. Realizing that the rest of her group was laughing, Argo mindlessly chuckled herself, as the group began to leave the empty classroom. Times like these the young girl detested herself and her stupid feelings, as she could see that her group was concerned for her, causing Argo to feel angry at herself for causing her friends so much distress.

As soon as she exited the door, she saw Julian leaning against the brick red high school lockers, alone, and realized that he must have waited for her. Swiftly turning around to view her friends, she excused herself.

"Hey guys, do you mind if I rain check on McDonald's today, I've eaten way too much junk this week."

As Argo finished speaking, she saw the group exchange looks with each other. Then Grace came up to Argo, giving the young girl a short hug, before answering. "No worries. If you're not feeling good or something goes wrong, just message us, we'll pick you up and get some coffee and ice-cream." Argo then smiled back, replying. "Everything is fine, go get your chicken nuggets before they sell out." The group then exchanged small goodbyes and hugs, while Julian was watching them and smiling as well.

Finally, when the group ushered out of the hall, Argo turned around to face Julian, smiling while speaking. "Were you waiting for me?" Smiling back at Argo, Julian answered smoothly.

"Of course I would, for my partner in crime."

 


	6. vi | neat room, messy mind

Staring out the window of a light colored Mercedes G Wagon, Argo could feel the vibration of the song currently playing.  _Four Walls by Bastille;_ A favorite of the young girls', courtesy of the blonde who passed the aux cord towards Argo at the beginning of the ride.

The scent of the leather filled Argo's nostrils, slightly nauseating in her opinion, but bearable. Rows of trees kept on passing by, as the young brunette mindlessly stared at the passenger's window. She soon realized that the clouds were heavy, indicating rainfall. Whilst staring out of the window, Argo could only think about one thing, or rather one person: Lars.  _Snap out of it!_ The young girl blinked, and started to think of what to do, and where to start, and how the pair will find Odilie.

Meanwhile Julian, who stared out at the empty road, couldn't suppress a faint grin as he listened to Argo unconsciously hum out of tune to the song, as they drove. Julian personally thought the comfortable silence was overrated, but Argo's presence made Julian feel secure.

A feminine voice then spoke, breaking the tranquil atmosphere. "Your house isn't too far from where we are at the moment, right?"

The golden blonde then glanced at his friend, quickly replying. "No. If I'm not mistaken, it's about 15 minute from where we are right now. But didn't we decide to check the path you found Odilie's agenda on instead, to see if there is anything left."

Still staring out the window, Argo quickly replied. "I think it's a good idea to check out Odilie's room again, there's something that really bugging me. And anyways, the police probably found anything that could have been found, considering they're seasoned pro's and have the dogs and equipment and stuff." Looking at Julian, Argo continued. "Don't worry Julian, we'll still check the path. Anyways, it looks like it's about to pour."

-

Odilie's room had a crisp clean scent, the type that brought comfort and didn't cause migraines due to the overpowering alcohol undertone. Stepping into the room, Argo noticed that absolutely nothing has changed since the last time she had seen the room. It still looked perfect, in all its white themed pristine glory. The young brunette chuckled at herself as an image of her own room flashed in her mind. A cream colored room that was filled with art supplies and a million different books that the young girl had yet to read. Her own room was essentially the bipolar opposite of the room she was currently in.

"So what was it that you wanted to check?" Julian enquired, as he strode across the room to look out of the window.  _Is it some hereditary trait for the Lysettes to stare out of the window of any room that they ever enter?_

Argo swiftly cleared her throat, as she approached the calendar and medicine schedule pinned onto the bulletin board. "If there is one thing I realized about Odilie, it is that she is an extremely organized person."

Turning around to face Argo, the young blonde attractively snorted, before responding. "She is the most put together person you will ever meet."

"It says here that she intakes ******, and ****, which I'm guessing are really strong painkillers, since an injury to your tailbone would hurt a lot, especially if it also impacted her spine." Julian then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "I'm not getting at where you're going."

Argo then started to look through the drawers in Odilie's desk, trying to find some sort of clue or hint that could further her assumption that she had been pondering on for a while. "She also takes anti-depressants to combat with the side effects of the high dosage of pain killers."

As Argo glanced at Julian, she still saw his confusion, as he wasn't sure where exactly this thought process was headed. His silence invited Argo to further expand. "So Odilie, who takes a lot of pain killers, because she is in a lot of pain, was also prescribed pretty heavy anti-depressants, and still managed to become our destined Valedictorian and an early admission to Harvard pre-med." Argo stills saw Julian's confusion, which caused the young brunette to let out a sigh, as she further explained.

Opening up the last drawer, Argo found many orange bottles, evidently once contained medical drugs. She brought the pile out on the table, as she further continued. "Two things. Firstly, how the heck can a girl, who's on heavy medication and anti-depressants, gain the highest GPA score in our grade, and do all the shit to get an early admission to Harvard, in the span of six months. Do you realize how insane that is? There are literally people who dedicate their whole lives just to get into such prestigious schools, and still fail."

Julian then picked up one of the bottles of medication, reading the labels, quickly realizing that the dosage of the painkiller was indeed high. "I think I sort of get where you're going, but I –"

Argo then quickly interrupted. "That's not it. What type of Doctor, therapist, or whatever, prescribes so much medication, especially after such a long period of time?" Argo inhaled deeply as she paused for a second, allowing for her thoughts to further recollect.

"Have you ever taken a Biology class Julian?" The rhetorical question was about to be answered by the golden blonde, but Argo still continued. "No right minded individual, let alone an intelligent person with a doctorate degree, would give so much medicine for such a long period of time. It would have serious side affects, not to mention that Odilie's tolerance would be built up so high that she would need even more. So why did," halting for a moment, Odilie read the calendar on the bulletin board, "Dr. Bradley, give her so much med, it really doesn't make any sense. None of this adds up."

In consequence, an invisible tension occupied the atmosphere, as Argo watched Julian contemplate over her words. Scratching his forehead, Julian broke the silence. "I see where you're coming from." Argo wondered whether she had overstepped boundaries, but decided that she had not.  _I mean there is a girl missing, for Christ's sake._

The young blonde then finished. "But that's just who she is. She's able to take on the weight of the world, and make it look like she didn't lift a finger. "

Pressing her cherry tinted lips together, Argo began to reminiscence her limited encounters with Odilie, further wondering why she her disappearance was distracting her in such a significance. Less than two weeks ago, Argo had never held a proper conversation with Odilie, and though she was a fairly genuine and kind person, Argo was unable to fathom the reasoning to why she was wasting so much time thinking about the young girl's disappearance.

Setting down the orange bottle she was holding, Argo layed her hand on the white desk, before speaking. "She could seem like she had everything together, but appearances can be deceiving." Argo then met Julian's hazel gaze, and finished.

"I think we should pay Dr. Bradley a visit." 


End file.
